11/09/2015

Manage Holiday Stress with BYOD

by Neil Farquharson

It’s that time again.

Hectic parking lots, crowded malls and full social calendars — the Holidays are officially upon us.

Besides some well-deserved — and likely much needed — time off, what’s the best gift an organization can give to its employees? Many would agree that having the ability to take time off without coming back to a deluge of emails and to check into the office with minimal disruptions to quality family time — or the ability to BYOD — is quite the gift.

With BYOD, employees are no longer restricted to the walls of their offices or tied to their laptops. Email, documents and address books can travel easily with minimal disruptions to actual travel plans. Although they hate to admit it, most employees will log on over the holidays. So why not make sure they do so conveniently and securely?

Get some work done on the plane

Sometimes those PTO days are hard to come by, but with the help of BYOD, there’s no point in using up precious PTO hours when you don’t need to.

Sleeping on a plane is tough, and chances are you have seen all the movies being offered on the flight. Why not use your cross country journey in the clouds as an opportunity to log on and be productive before officially signing off for the long weekend? With most planes equipped with Wi-Fi, it’s easier than ever to maintain contact with everyone still at the office.

By the time you’ve landed, you’ve practically put in a full day’s work and are ready to enjoy the Thanksgiving feast that awaits you.

Sneak in a few emails between Nordstrom and Best Buy

Unfortunately we all have that one coworker. You know … the one whose holiday plans include not having any holiday plans. He/she is the type more likely to ignore OOF replies than heed them as an actual warning to not expect a response.

And you can always expect an urgent request to come in from that person at the worst time. While it’s not ideal, in order to avoid a follow-up from Mr. Can’t Wait, use those moments between stores while you’re out shopping on Black Friday. With BYOD, everything you need is at your fingertips.

Get the most out of being stranded at the airport

Just because your boss is ready for you to get back to work doesn’t necessarily mean the weather is willing to let you. Make the most out of your time in the airport when a flight is cancelled or delayed. Once you’ve booked your next flight, get ahead of your workload and start checking emails. You will do yourself a huge favor by getting a head start.

Thanks to the gift of BYOD, employees can maximize family time, while still staying on top of work, ensuring a smooth return to the office. And with solutions that keep corporate data off devices, organizations can rest assured that all work completed on-the-go is safe and secure.